discernment and delight

Two Hippos Make an Island: Capetown, South Africa

Capetown manages to combine one of the world’s most striking natural settings with the cosmopolitan flair of an international tourist and cultural hub. Stay at the Waterfront Holiday Inn (part of the regional Southern Sun chain), a 25-minute ride from the airport on safe and affordable cabs.

You’ll want to visit the Waterfront itself for its shops. Eat at Balducci’s, where the ferries depart for Robben Island, in the sunny outdoor terraza if you can, indoors if you can’t. The menu is ample, but try the three-game plate if you’re not hooked on grain-fed red meat. Where else can you safely and enjoyable eat antelope, washed down by Pinotage, a red varietal that only exists in South Africa (a hybrid of Pinot Noir and Hermitage). I nearly always drink Pinotage in South Africa and recommend Raka Winery’s selections for a most affordable red.

The Waterfront’s Exclusive Books shop (you’ll see these bookshops all over South Africa) is superb and has a great Africana section. You are, after all, in Africa.